The Baltic Sea—playfully now referred to by some Western officials as the "NATO Lake"—has long been a potential flashpoint between Russia and its foreign adversaries. The sea—now almost entirely enclosed by NATO nations following the accession of Finland and Sweden to the transatlantic alliance—serves as a vital gateway to the world for Russia's Baltic Fleet issuing from the strategic ports of St.

The draft Russian defence ministry decree suggested moving the sea borders around Russian islands in the Gulf of Finland and around the exclave of Kaliningrad.

A Russian defence ministry proposal to revise Russia's maritime border in the eastern Baltic Sea was deleted on Wednesday from an official portal after creating confusion and concern among NATO members such as Finland,